We love Bend.  Period.  Hip town, cool people, great breweries, gorgeous landscape... It was hard to leave.  We camped, FREE, for two nights along the Cascade Lakes Highway.  The third night was spent at a great campsite along the Deschutes River 30 miles south of Bend, where Oregon's largest Ponderosa Pine is located!  

After a great weekend of hiking and biking, we headed towards the California coast, with a small detour to Crater Lake.  It was windy, snowy and damn cold.  So, our visit was brief but well worth the effort.  

Our next three days were spent in the Redwoods, which was beyond magnificent.  We arrived late(ish) the first night and tucked away for the evening deep in the Jedediah Smith State Park.  It felt like a fairy tale.  Trees were ENORMOUS and the moss was thick.  It was dark, yet only green, damp and lush.  

We woke early and continued on south to find ourselves at Gold Bluffs Beach Campground.  It was a six mile rugged, unpaved, steep, windy road to arrive (RV's and trailers prohibited), which of course translates into super awesome.  We set up shop and headed out on foot for an incredible hike.  Our loop began with a mile or so of coastal hiking, followed by lush fern valleys and old growth forest.  We saw it all!  After returning, the rain grew heavy so we cozied up in our camper with a bottle of whiskey, a deck of cards and some good music.  It was a perfect day.  

The next day we continued south and drove through the Avenue of Giants.  As the name suggests, the trees were HUGE.  We attempted to get a close up of the Dodge Mahal next to one of the giants for a comparison.  

We kept on driving that day and found ourselves halfway between the Redwoods and San Francisco, camping off Highway 1.  The sunset that evening was breathtaking.  

Highway 1 is a stunning route.  And Northern California is gorgeous.  After about three days of making our way down the coast, via the steepest/windiest/zero shoulder and room for error route, we arrived to PK and Laura's!  We are looking forward to spending Memorial weekend with a few great friends!